Warning: Spoilers about “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” ahead.
As a staple in the music industry for nearly 30 years, Beyoncé has built a special relationship with her fans, the Beyhive. In her upcoming film, “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé,” the superstar strengthens that bond, giving her fans an intimate look at her life as a global icon and mom of three.
Her concert film, out Dec. 1, had its world premiere on Nov. 25, with celebrity friends and family joining the “Cuff It” singer in Los Angeles to walk the “chrome carpet” and relive her “Renaissance” tour on the big screen. TODAY Editorial Director Arianna Davis, who witnessed the cinematic event in person, penned an essay about her experience.
Ahead of the movie’s arrival in theaters on Dec. 1, Davis shares some of the biggest revelations, takeaways and standout moments from “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé.” Read below to find out what you can expect — why the movie, which the singer also directed, is one of her most vulnerable and breathtaking projects yet.
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1. The Renaissance film is not the long-awaited visuals
Since Beyoncé gifted her fans with “Renaissance” in July 2022, they have been awaiting the release of visual components, or music videos, for the songs. Well, the Beyhive shouldn’t expect “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” to be a visual album similar to “Lemonade” or “Black Is King.” Instead, the “Halo” singer’s latest project is part documentary, part concert film — creating a striking spectacle.
Resembling the format of her 2019 musical documentary “Homecoming,” her latest project, “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé,” includes Beyoncé’s performances from her world tour interlaced with home footage and backstage interviews with her, her team and members of her family.
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Beyoncé does take a moment to poke fun at the constant pleas for visuals. The movie includes the viral social media clip of her telling a fan “You are the visual, baby.” For now, the film should more than appease members of the Beyhive who have been anxiously anticipating “Renaissance” visuals.
2. Several songs from the tour are cut out, but not many
Although Beyoncé’s recent tour heavily featured songs from “Renaissance,” the expansive set list also included fan-favorites and deep cuts from her past albums. With each concert clocking in at over two hours, there were bound to be a few songs that couldn’t make the final cut of the movie. Beyoncé still belts over 30 songs in “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé,” but ballads like “1+1” and “I Care” are absent. “Rather Die Young” and fellow “4” track “Love on Top” are also missing, Davis reports.
A few transitions as Beyoncé changes from one extravagant outfit to the next are left out, too. However, “Drunk In Love,” which was only performed at a few select tour dates, makes it into the film.
3. Blue Ivy used haters as her motivation
Among the film’s many revelations, according to Davis? Blue Ivy is the breakout star in the film.
“In addition to moments of Blue hilariously offering her mother unsolicited opinions and advice on her show, we also learn the backstory of how the pre-teen ended up joining her mother on stage for what quickly became an iconic dance breakdown,” Davis says.
All three of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s children — 11-year-old Blue Ivy and 6-year-old twins Rumi and Sir — make an appearance in the concert film. But the couple’s oldest daughter is especially spotlighted as she opens up about sharing the stage with her mom.
The pre-teen wowed audiences when she danced alongside her mom in multiple cities throughout the tour. Beyoncé discusses her daughter’s viral dance moves in the film revealing that she originally did not feel comfortable putting Blue on stage. Blue continued to ask her mom, and eventually the “XO” singer said she would agree when she felt the 11-year-old had rehearsed enough and was ready. Beyoncé eventually saw how hard her daughter worked and allowed her to come on stage.
While the crowds cheered and applauded her daughter, Beyoncé shares that Blue managed to see a few negative comments about her performance online. During the film, Davis says, Blue reveals that she used the criticism to motivate her to work even harder and nail the choreography.
“The scene is so poignant, it led our theater to loud whistles and impressed, whooping cheers for Ms. Blue Ivy Carter — and a tear or two from this here viewer,” Davis wrote in her essay.
4. Viewers get to see all of her most iconic costumes from different cities
Apparently, Beyoncé’s looks should have received top billing, as they are also a huge star in this movie. The “Heated” singer managed to make each stop on her world tour unique by debuting a dazzling new look. She showed off most of the outfits on Instagram each week, but fans will get to experience their opulence again in theaters.
During the songs, the movie cuts to performances from different cities, highlighting the countless, sparkling looks Beyoncé donned throughout the tour. The editing style is similar to the technique used in the “Homecoming” documentary where the movie flawlessly transitions from her yellow ensemble to her pink look during the “Crazy in Love” dance break.
5. She reveals she had knee surgery one month before the first tour stop
In one of the film’s most surprising moments, Beyoncé shares that she needed to have surgery about one month before the tour kicked off in Sweden in May. The movie includes footage of her recovering after the procedure and clips from her rehab, Davis says. Beyoncé does not mention her specific diagnosis, but says her knee was completely shattered after nearly 30 years of challenging choreography.
Her mom, Tina Knowles, expresses in the film that she was worried about the limited recovery time, but the operation couldn’t be postponed.
6. She opens up like never before about motherhood
Over the years, Beyoncé has opted to rarely discuss her private life in interviews, instead choosing to allude to personal details in her songs. In “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” she invites viewers into her life as a mother of three.
During the European leg of her tour, her children resided in Cannes, France, she reveals. In between shows, she returned to the coastal city where her children remained, ensuring they had privacy and stability.
The music icon also says she worked to pencil in time for back-to-school shopping and school drop-off somewhere into her busy schedule. “Kids don’t care what you do for a living. They just want mom,” she explains.
The proud mom also shows how she managed to juggle putting on a massive 56-dates tour for millions of fans, as Variety reported, and being there for her kids.
7. She is embracing life in her 40’s
When Beyoncé released her debut solo album, “Dangerously in Love” in 2003, she was just 21 years old and had already become a household name as a member of Destiny’s Child. Since then, she has become a businesswoman — founding multiple companies — and the artist with the most Grammy Awards of all time, among countless accolades.
In the past, she thought her 20’s and 30’s would be her best years, she says in the film. Now 42, Beyoncé says she has realized that “Life is just getting better.”
She speaks about embracing time and aging, one of the big themes in the movie. The “Irreplaceable” singer says she is now loving and accepting who she is today — unbothered by other people’s expectations of her.
8. The runtime is around 2 hours and 45 minutes
The film is similar to the length of a “Renaissance” tour concert. The personal interviews and 30-plus songs total about 2 hours and 45 minutes in runtime.
9. There is a surprise in the end credits
Beyoncé saved a special surprise for the Beyhive during the end credits. We won’t ruin it here, but Davis promises: it is definitely worth the wait.
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